Chapter 131 Hand-Splitting Stone
The people who crowded around should be Murong family subordinates. After Murong Meng greeted them, she walked to the side of a venerable old man in a Tang suit, who was closing his eyes and resting.
She asked with a hint of respect, "Elder Tang, have the jade roughs been checked?"
The Elder Tang in Murong Meng's mouth was Tang Lin, a renowned jade appraiser in Jiangnan Province, especially skilled in stone gambling.
He once bought a rough stone for five hundred yuan and cut out an ice-jade emerald worth eighty thousand yuan, making his name known throughout Jiangnan Province and establishing his position in the Jiangnan jade industry. His fame grew, and he gradually became a welcomed guest among Jiangnan jade merchants.
He wouldn't have come if it weren't for the Murong family's reputation.
Murong Meng maintained respect in front of such a distinguished figure.
"They are all rough stones of good quality, nothing much to see," Elder Tang opened his eyes and nodded at Murong Meng, a greeting.
"That's good!" Murong Meng quickly nodded.
At this moment, a lean, monkey-like man, dressed in an oversized Western suit, with shifty eyes and a smirking smile, walked over. "Miss Murong, how is it? Can we load them onto the trucks?"
This monkey-like man was the seller.
"Yes, I'll have my people load them." Murong Meng nodded. Since there were no issues, there was no need to linger, as it could lead to unnecessary trouble, especially considering the millions of yuan worth of rough stones.
Murong Meng then instructed her subordinates, "Quickly have the workers load all the rough stones onto the trucks."
Soon, workers rushed forward and began moving the rough stones onto the trucks.
Seeing this, a subtle hint of joy flashed in the monkey-like man's eyes.
As the workers busily moved the stones, the monkey-like man anxiously directed his own men to help, appearing extremely eager.
Murong Meng glanced at Chen Xuan and smiled, "Chen Xuan, you promised me you'd help move stones. Why aren't you moving?"
Chen Xuan's mind was still on the stones from earlier. He nodded blankly and walked towards the nearest stone.
Seeing Chen Xuan so obedient, Murong Meng felt bored and slightly annoyed.
Chen Xuan squatted down, looking at a stone the size of his head. He glanced at the cut surface and confirmed his suspicion: it was indeed a fake!
Although Murong Meng was somewhat targeting him because she suspected he had deceived Murong Yuan, Murong Yuan had already paid, and he couldn't bear for Murong Yuan to be swindled.
He looked up at the monkey-like man who was standing nearby, smoking, and asked nonchalantly, "Brother, your faking skills are quite high. You've fooled quite a few people, haven't you?"
"Of course, look at our craftsmanship..."
The monkey-like man nodded instinctively, but then suddenly realized what he said. He abruptly turned his head and glared fiercely at Chen Xuan, as if a bomb had been detonated. "Kid, what nonsense are you talking about? These are top-quality jade roughs collected from the Moxisha mine in Myanmar. How could they be fake?"
"You know what I mean." Chen Xuan brushed the dirt off his hands, stood up straight, narrowed his eyes, and stared at the little boss with a half-smile.
The monkey-like man felt a bit guilty under his gaze. However, thinking that Chen Xuan was still there moving stones, he must be an ordinary person, and thus regained his confidence.
Their argument quickly drew attention, and Elder Tang and Murong Meng walked over.
"What's going on?" Murong Meng asked.
The monkey-like man said coldly, "Miss Murong, even your hired Elder Tang has confirmed these rough stones are genuine. Yet this fellow, dressed in cheap clothes, claims our rough stones are fake. He's clearly trying to make things difficult for us. Miss Murong, if you don't want to cooperate, just say so, and we can leave."
Elder Tang sized Chen Xuan up, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Murong Meng frowned and looked at Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan was not one to spout nonsense, so why would he say such a thing?
"Chen Xuan, what's going on?" Murong Meng asked.
"These rough stones are all fake," Chen Xuan stated calmly.
Murong Meng opened her mouth, about to speak, but Elder Tang couldn't help but erupt in anger, "A mere youngster dares to question me? Why don't you take a look at yourself in the mirror? If I wasn't seeing you come with Miss Murong, I would have kicked you out long ago!"
Chen Xuan's brows furrowed as he was berated by the self-assured Elder Tang.
Elder Tang looked at Murong Meng and said in an unpleasant tone, "Miss Murong, this is the person you brought. I've already finished verifying the goods for you. You can make your own decision."
"Alright, alright, thank you, Elder Tang. Young people don't know any better, I'll educate him when we get back." Murong Meng said, placating him.
For Su Yunxi's sake, Murong Meng didn't want to trouble Chen Xuan further. She waved her hand for the loading to continue.
Elder Tang snorted coldly.
The monkey-like man breathed a sigh of relief, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips.
Chen Xuan spoke, "Whether they are real or fake, we'll know once we open these stones."
Murong Meng glared at Chen Xuan angrily, signaling him to stop talking, but Chen Xuan remained unmoved.
"Fine, alright. Since you dare to question me, I'll make sure you lose clearly."
Elder Tang gritted his teeth, seemingly determined to expose Chen Xuan, and angrily said, "However, if you lose, you'll become my disciple. No, that's too good for you. You'll be my errand boy."
"And if you lose?" Chen Xuan asked nonchalantly.
"I'll become your disciple!" Elder Tang sneered.
"Heh, I don't have a disciple as old as you," Chen Xuan retorted with a curl of his lips.
Elder Tang was so furious he wanted to strangle Chen Xuan.
His mind was solely focused on cutting open the rough stones and thoroughly embarrassing Chen Xuan. He then said to the monkey-like man, "Open the stones for me!"
The monkey-like man's face paled. These stones couldn't be opened. He forcefully said, "Miss Murong, these jade stones are valuable. They must not be opened."
Murong Meng said, "These jade stones are mine now. Open them!"
"But we don't have any tools right now?" The monkey-like man was sweating profusely, his mind racing. He found an excuse to fend them off.
He even admired his own idea. These were stones, were they expecting him to split them with his bare hands?
"I can open it!"
Just as Elder Tang was about to give up, Chen Xuan spoke.
"Do you have tools?" The monkey-like man stared venomously at Chen Xuan. If it weren't for Chen Xuan, he would have already taken the money and be living a carefree life. Hence, he hated Chen Xuan.
"No, but I have my own way!"
Chen Xuan said calmly, picked up the stone the size of his head that he had brought earlier, and slowly raised his palm.
"What are you pretending for? These are stones, are you planning to split them open?" the monkey-like man scoffed.
This guy is so amusing!
But the next moment, his smile froze.
*Crack!*
The rough stone the size of his head in Chen Xuan's hand actually split into two, with an incredibly smooth cut surface, even smoother than one made by a cutting machine.
Everyone was dumbfounded. Splitting stone with bare hands?
Elder Tang, having gambled on stones for so many years, had never witnessed such a magical technique!
Were Chen Xuan's hands made of diamond?
While everyone was astonished by Chen Xuan's method, Chen Xuan pointed at the opened rough stone and said to Elder Tang, "See? There's no jade inside this rough stone at all."